Poland & the Heresy of Catholicism

 

“Poland is among the neediest nations in the world for the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Thus said Tomasz Krazek, a missionary in Poland supported by Heartcry Missionaries. This is a rather startling statement due to the fact that a recent survey declared Poland one of the most religious countries in Europe and among the most Roman Catholic nations in the world. So where is the dilemma? What makes Poland such a gospel-deprived and spiritually desperate country if it’s said to be one of the most religious countries in Europe? The statistics are misleading, and the truth is, the people of Poland are enslaved to a dead religion, Catholicism. 

Out of Poland’s approximate 38 million citizens, 88.8% identify as Christian. At face value, this fact is very encouraging and uplifting. However, 98% of those are Roman Catholic and hold to a work-based, tradition-centered salvation, not the true gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed in Scripture, “Salvation by faith alone in Christ alone.” And among the 0.3% of Protestants in Poland, many are Liberal, ecumenical, or adhere to the prosperity gospel. Again, I will quote the missionary Tomasz Krazek: “The percentage of Conservative and Reformed Christians who hold to the inerrancy of Scripture and a Biblical view of the gospel is infinitesimal.” (Emphasis added)

So nearly the entirety of Poland is made up of Roman Catholics, very religious people who believe that good works get you to heaven and maintain quite a few unbiblical and rather meaningless traditions. But what is the problem with Catholicism exactly? Why is true salvation not based on how good of a person you are?  Because, as it says in Romans, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The fact is, no amount of good works could ever get you to heaven. First, because no one is good. Second, because Jesus died. If being friendly, generous, and generally a nice person gives you eternal life, then God’s son, who is uncomprehendingly one with his Father, died for no reason! But that is not the reality. Humanity was, and still is unless you give your life to God, so hopelessly entangled in its sin, shame, and gross immorality, that God Himself had to become a human being and come to earth, only to be betrayed and killed by those whom He had created, stripping Himself of deserved honor and glory and becoming nothing more in the eyes of the world than a bloody criminal. All this the King of the universe endured for one reason. To be able to justly love and accept us into the Kingdom of Heaven, because by dying as a sinner, He took our place, so we do not have to die. Of course, the Bible still commands us to be kind, gentle, loving, generous, etc., to strive to live as Jesus lived, because faith without works is dead. But unlike Catholics, we Protestants do not rely on good works to be saved, but God’s mercy, grace, and love. 

    Despite the millions and millions of Poles who are held as slaves to a dead religion, knowing in their hearts that they will never measure up, the beautiful, historically rich country of Poland is, by the providence of God, not without true, Bible-believing Christians. After all, God promised in the Bible that He will always leave a remnant of truly saved believers even in the darkest of places. One such place in Poland is a small but growing church in the city of Krakow, where a pastor named Adam Wegrzyk works tirelessly as the only pastor and teaching elder of his church. The mentioned missionary organization Heartcry says: “There is a desperate scarcity of men qualified to serve the church in Poland as elders and deacons… Few men understand the requirements of Biblical leadership, even fewer are willing to answer the call of sacrificial responsibility and the uncompromising service to the truth of Christ.” Adam bears a great burden to his service to his congregation. He has to fulfill his callings of pastor, father, and husband to a wife who suffers from serious health conditions. But by deciding to retire early, sacrifice his salary, and devote himself wholly to his ministry, trusting the Lord for his provision, this faithful pastor may rest in blessed assurance, knowing that God will care for him and his family. 

Such stories as this and the reality of Poland’s religious state, many strictly traditional and religious Catholics who rely on good works for their salvation but very few Bible-believing Christians who rely on God’s grace to save them, should encourage us to pray for God’s mercy to raise men qualified and willing to answer the call to leadership and who zealously strive for holiness and courageously defend the truth. 

So, pray for Poland, and all the countries of the world who struggle beneath the weight of dead religion.